


when the old doth fall

by yelenavasilyevna



Category: King Lear - Shakespeare
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, F/M, Gen, M/M, Oneshot, Threesome - F/M/M, edmund/everyone, even though edmund is horny, goneril and edmund are deeply lonely people check!!, it really is i swear, not graphic but. there's ur warning, regan is a top, takes place during 3.7
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 08:14:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29789016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yelenavasilyevna/pseuds/yelenavasilyevna
Summary: Goneril says, "My sister does not love you," and Edmund hears what she doesn't say, what she can't say,but I do. He wonders whether that is the truth, and whether he cares. What they have is need. Need has always been a stronger force than love.
Relationships: Cornwall/Edmund (King Lear), Cornwall/Edmund/Regan (King Lear), Edmund/Goneril (King Lear), Edmund/Regan (King Lear)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	when the old doth fall

Cornwall knows. He's almost certain of it. He hadn't been, until now— the man had made him an Earl, and surely he wouldn't have, if he suspected something, surely the plan was working. It is not until he catches his arm, _Edmund, farewell,_ with a quiet look in his dark, hardened face that cuts straight through him, shakes his composure in a way he is not used to, a look that says _I see you._

And lets him go anyway.

 _Why?_ He could say something. He _should:_ he has no reason to allow this, no skin in this game. What does he want from Edmund? Is it only his body? If so, he has that much to give. His body he will surrender, and willingly. He will let Cornwall take anything he likes, if it keeps him silent.

Edmund thinks about the way Cornwall kissed him: shameless. Shame belongs only to men who are afraid to admit what they want, who are angry about it, furious with themselves for the very act of wanting. The angry men are the ones that fuck him the hardest, and all the same can't look him in the eye. Cornwall has anger, but it isn't with himself. He knew what he wanted. He wasn't afraid. Edmund wonders how many men he's taken to his marriage bed, how many women, remembers the smile Regan gave him when she saw her husband with his hand in her lover's hair, not surprise but thrill. _They know what they are_ , Edmund thinks. _They don't apologize._

They give him leave, so that the fruit of his labor might flower unobserved. They needn't have. What loyalty does a bastard owe his father? What loyalty does he owe anyone? If he'd been asked to, he could've made all the right sounds: played the heartbroken son, the dutiful man above all, that delicate balance of revulsion and righteousness. He's thought about it, the way he'd look at his father as Cornwall hung a noose around his neck. Edmund is too far gone to shy from a challenge. Gloucester is nothing but an obstacle.

Not even _Gloucester_ anymore, he reminds himself. Only a man. Old and weak and foolish.

Goneril is sitting at his side with her hand hooked over the collar of his shirt. She knows what she wants too, but she is not the same as her sister. She belongs to him in a way Regan does not. Edmund thinks that, if he asked her, she would betray them all for him. She would burn her world to the ground. He could get drunk on the power of knowing that all he'd have to do was ask.

He feels drunk anyways. _Earl of Gloucester,_ he thinks, not just on the lips of Cornwall but for all to hear and see. He lifts her chin to kiss her, just because he can, thinks he must be more Regan than Goneril, he is so unashamed. She leans into him like she always does, fierce but desperate, her nails cutting hard in his shoulder like she wants to stake her claim, wants to mark him for hers. He doesn't mind. He has other marks still red from other bodies, he has a wound on his arm to remind him every day of Edgar. He is not afraid to be scarred. A scar is a small price to pay for power. A bit of pain to seize what he wants most of all.

"My Gloucester," she whispers, and slides her leg over his hips, kissing with teeth. He wonders if she will draw blood, if they will taste it together. "My lord."

It could work, he thinks. Goneril needs him more than she needs her husband, and Albany is an obstacle only as long as he is alive. Goneril would kill him. She wouldn't think twice.

They are alike, in that way. They both know when to make a sacrifice.

Does Cornwall know about Goneril too? He must. And yet he sends them off together— is it a favor? With her lips on his throat, it feels that way, but he can't imagine what Cornwall stands to gain. He doesn't like the idea that he is indebted, that Cornwall expects something back from him. Whatever it is, he will not receive it. But Cornwall is a good ally to have, so long as he is useful. He'd rather not lose him. Edmund doesn't know if he draw an answer from Cornwall without confessing, but he will have to try. It's too dangerous to reveal himself. The next time he sees the man, he'll do it carefully. If he plays it right, he may even secure a friend.

Perhaps friend is not the right word.

Goneril says, "My sister does not love you," and Edmund hears what she doesn't say, what she can't say, _but I do._ He wonders whether that is the truth, and whether he cares. What they have is need. Need has always been a stronger force than love.

"I care not for her," he says, raising his hand to stroke her hair. He supposes he cannot blame Goneril for thinking of Regan now. His own thoughts are not so focused. "My lady, you torture yourself."

She leans her forehead against his. He is close enough to see her blown pupils, the way she looks at him like she wants him to say it again. Edmund coils a piece of her hair around his finger and tugs it, gently, tests her. She lets herself be lead, tilts back her head so he can leave marks of his own.

Earlier that day, Regan held him down, fucked him with that confidence of someone who will not be told no. He likes that about her. She is a blaze where her sister is a burning fuse, she is all her fire, all at once. But Goneril burns for longer. She is not so fixed. She takes what she is given.

Edmund wonders if his father is still alive.

**Author's Note:**

> i created the edmund/cornwall tag for this


End file.
